Agricultural implement



p 1954 H- G. FERGUSON 2,689,514

* AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT Filed Oct. 21, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 f2enryGeorge Rrg (1.50/1 By fl mq; A (tor/my:

Sept. 21, 1954 H. G. FERGUSON AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed 00%. 21, 1947 m t, F 3 e W m wm a o 8 f. 6 10 my; Z 8

Patented Sept. 21, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application October21, 1947, Serial No. 781,146 In Great Britain May 22, 1941 Section 1,Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires May 22, 1961 2 Claims.(01. 97-47152) This inventionrelates to cultivators or equivalentagricultural implements having a plurality of spaced soil-engagingelements, and especially to implements, such for example, as cultivatorsfor row crop work for attachment to a tractor which embodies a threepoint hitch link attachment and a lifting power unit as set forth, for

example, in my prior United States Patent No.

2,233,602 and which embodies means for adjusting the track of the frontand rear wheels as set forth in my prior United States Patent No.2,247,725 and my prior British patent specification No. 548,259. 1

An object of the invention is to provide a cultivator or equivalentagricultural implement especially for row crop work which comprises aplurality of laterally spaced soil-engaging elements, such for example,as resilient tin-es, a supporting fr me therefor and adjustableconnection means is een the tines and the frame permittin latl and foreand aft adjustment of the tines with reference to the frame and to eachother, .racterised in that the adjustable connection .s between a tinsand the frame comprises a ore member having a vertical or upwardly armadjustably connected to the frame so to be capable of angular adjustmentthereon having a further, preferably horizontal or st bstantiallyhorizontal arm to which the tine or equivalentis adjustably connected soas to be capable of angular adjustment thereon.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cultivator as setforth in combination with ce ring or steering means as set forth in my 1r United States Patent No. 2,195,516 and with tractor having means foradjusting the track of the front wheels as set forth in my prior UnitedPatent No. 2,247,725 and means for adjusting the track of the rearWheels as set forth in my prior British patent specification No.548,259.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood the followingspecific embodiments will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings wherein:

Fi 1 is a plan view of a spring tine cultivator in accordance with theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a corresponding side elevation.

3 is a perspective view showing the guiding fin.

Figs. 4 and 5 are respectively elevation and inverted plan to anenlarged scale of the joint between the spring tine and the crank arm.

6 is a detail plan, view. to an enlarged scale of the connection of thecrankarm to thefore and aft bar. 1

Figs. '7 and 8 are enlarged views, partly in section, of alternativeground-engaging parts.

Figs. 9 to 14 are diagrammatic plan views showing some of the possiblegroupings of the tines. Fig. 15 is a plan view of tractor and cultivatorillustrating the action of the guiding fin.

Referring to the drawings, especially Figs. 1 and 2, the cultivatorconsists of two spaced cross beams l of angle section each having acontin uous series of closely pitched bolt holes 2 and connectedtogether by diagonal bracing struts 3 which can be bolted to anyselected holes 2 to give any desired spacing of the struts. The beams lare also connected together by fore and aft laterally spaced bars 4 eachconnected to any selected holes 2 by one bolt at one end and two boltsat the other. Nearer the end with the two bolts each bar is curved toform a semi-circular recess 5 to receive the vertical arm or post 6 of acrank which is provided with depth indicating notches '1 (Fig. 2) andflats 3 to facilitate turning thereof. Each arm 6 is firmly clamped inthe recess 5 by a U-bolt 9. Each crank has a substantially horizontalarm H] to the end of which a C-shaped springtine is pivotally clamped.The spring tine consists of two superposed curved leaf springs l I whichare clamped by a bolt I 2 between a circular flat !3 on the arm H1 and aretaining plate E4 (Figs. 4 and 5) upturned at two opposite sides 15 toengage and contain the two leaf springs i i. As shown more clearly inFig. 7 these springs have the soil engaging part or shovel l6 detachablyattached thereto. It is attached to the inner springby a bolt 17 and bya bolt l8. The latter pames through a slot 19 in the outer spring andthe nut is kept free of this spring by a collar 2!). Thus the shovel l6and bolt F8 are capable of sliding movement with reference to the outerspring ll so that the whole tine assembly can bend back sumciently toclear an obstruction, there being allowed during this operation asliding movement between the two springs. Fig. 8 shows how analternative form of soil-engaging part, in this case a sweep 42, can besimilarly attached by the use of an adaptor 2! through which the bolt (3passes or which may be formed on the bolt. It will be clearly seen thatvarious other shapes and forms of soil-engaging parts may be similarlyfitted as in Figs. 7 and 8 as desired.

The cultivator is provided with guiding means to give an automaticself-centering effect as set forth in my prior United States Patent No.2,195,516. Thismeans consists of a fin 22 having a vertical resilientstem 23 near the end thereof bolted to the central bar 4a which isspecially extended. It will be noted that this bar has two recesses 5instead of only one, this being necessary as this bar could not bereversed like the others, without detaching the fin, for adjustment ofthe tine as later explained. The stem is braced by struts 24 connectedto the rear bar i and allowing torsional movement of the stem as setforth in said prior Patent No. 2,195,516. The fin is usually set to runabout 3 inches below the shovels but this may be varied to suitdifferent soil conditions, suitable series of bolt holes 25 beingprovided in the stem to allow of vertical adjustment. The use of the finis especially important in row crop work and it enables the use of rearcultivators as opposed to cultivators forward of the rear wheels, thework of which cultivators is at least partly negatived by the oncomingrear wheels.

Fig. 15 shows the action of the fin in conjuncticn with spaced forwardlyconvergent links 26 as disclosed, for example, in my prior United StatesPatent No. 1,916,945. If, for example, the operator allows the tractorto get too close to the crop as shown at the right rear wheel, he thensteers the tractor central again as shown by the front wheels.

The instant the front wheels are turned to steer the tractor back to thecenter of the row, a heavy soil pressure is imposed all along the sideof the fin, as indicated by the arrow. i-"his causes the fin to deflectand steer the implement as shown.

On hillsides the tendency of the implement to fall away puts a soilpressure along the down side of the fin. This steers the implement upthe hill and keeps it in the correct position.

Instead of a fixed blade, the fin may consist of a rolling blade 22a asindicated in chain dotted lines. This rolling fin is especially usefulfor trashy land.

The bars have an upstanding frame structure consisting of members 21, 28having laterally spaced pins 29 for engagement with universal balls 353in the laterally spaced draft links 28. The members 28 have apertures 35at the top adapted to receive a pin 33 adapted to pass through auniversal ball 32 in the top link 34. These links it, 34 are universallyattached to the well known Ford-Ferguson tractor, being adapted tcoperate and be controlled substantially as described, for example, in myprior United States Patent No. 2,233,002 and my prior patents referredto therein. As there described, the draft links 25 and upper link 34 areoperable in response to changes in draft load reflected by changes inthe forward rocking force on the implement, acting about the pivotalconnecting pins 29 and universal balls 39, imposed by soil reactionagainst the soil-engaging parts of the implement.

The tines ii, iii are capable of extensive adjustment. In the firstplace they can be readily adjusted vertically with reference to the bars4 by loosening the U-bolts, the graduations 7 being provided tofacilitate adjusting them to predetermined heights. Secondly, they canreadily be adjusted laterally by attaching the bars 4 in any selectedholes 2. They can also be adjusted fore and aft by having the crank arm[6 projecting forwardly (see the tine third from the left side Fig. l)or rearwardly (see the extreme left tine in Fig. 1). Further fore andaft adjustment can be made by reversing the bar i (see the second endtine at the left hand side of Fig. 1). Finally, a fine lateral and foreand aft adjustment can be made if desired by angling the crank arms HJ 4from the various fore and aft positions. In such cases the springs llwould be correspondingly angled with reference to the arms In at theclampin bolts l2 in order to keep the tines in a true fore and aftdirection. The last mentioned adjustment is especially useful in caseswhere the structure of the frame is such as to necessitate an les, websor the like which break the even spacing of the holes 2.

It will be seen with reference to the drawings. that the offsetlocations of the clamping recesses 5 are correlated with the length ofthe substantially horizontal crank arms ID to permit positioning of thefree end of the crank arm ii! in the region of or preferably ahead ofthe implement hitch pins 29, 39 in at least one selected crank position.This is illustrated by the extreme left tine in Fig. 2 in which thefore-and-aft bar 6 is mounted to present the clamping recess 5 in theforward position'and the crank arm I0 is angularly rotated to theforward direction. As thus positioned, it will be seen that the springtine and its soil-engaging element are forwardly positioned with thecenter of gravity of the tine assembly lying substantially beneath thehitch pins 29, 39. In the present instance, the center of gravity of theextreme left tine of Fig. 2 is slightly behind the vertical center lineof the pins when the cultivator is in operative position.

Such correlation of the location of the clamping recess 5 and horizontalcrank arm I 0 is highly advantageous in relation to the draft responsivehitch linkage, described above. The presently described spring tinecultivator is of the class of implements often referred to as lightdraft implements, and, as such, full utilization of the forces imposedon the tine by soil reaction is desirable for actuating the draftresponsive hitch mechanism.

In the present instance, such utilization of the draft forces isaccomplished by the previously described correlation permitting theforward mounting of the spring tines in at least one position. Theresultin close coupling of the soil engaging parts in relation to thehitch connections minimizes rearwardly overhanging implement weightcounteracting the forward rocking draft forces, and insures effectivetransmission of the forward rocking forces to the upper draft responsivelink 3d. Such positioning for a variety of applications and soilconditions is illustrated in Figs. 1, and 9 to 14, where a variety ofechelon arrangements of tines are shown with the leading tines alwayslocated in their foremost posi- Fig. 1 shows a setting for cultivatingtwo crop rows indicated by dotted lines.

Fig. 9 shows .a setting for cultivating the equivalent of three rows,that is, two rows and two half rows.

Fig. 10 shows a setting similar to Fig. 9 but with more fore and aftclearance for trashy ground.

Fig. 11 shows a setting for cultivating four complete rows.

Fig. 12 shows a setting for cultivating four rows.

Fig. 13 shows a setting for light general cultivation and Fig. 14 showsa similar setting with more clearance for trashy soil. For very trashysoil the arrangement in Fig. 14 could be modified by increasing thelateral spacing and reducing the number of tines. For generalcultivation as distinct from row crop work the guiding fin may beomitted.

It will be seen from the above that the invention provides a cultivatorwhich can be readily assembled and adjusted to give a Wide variety inthe spacing, number of and kind of soil engaging parts to be used.

As shown in Fig. 1, fenders 35 may be provided at any desired spacing,being attached by slotted links 36 to arms 3! attached to the bar I sothat they can freely rise and fall in operation.

The flexibility of lateral adjustment in the tines can only be employedto maximum advantage with a tractor whose wheels offer also a wide rangeof adjustment. This is provided for in that the tractor diagrammaticallyshown has a front axle arrangement in accordance with my prior UnitedStates Patent No. 2,247,725 which provides a. wide range of adjustmentand a rear wheel ad justment as set forth in my prior British patentspecification No. 548,259.

I claim:

1. A cultivator adapted for use on a tractor i hitch linkage having apair of laterally spaced power elevated draft links and an upwardlyspaced draft responsive link pivoted on the tractor at their forwardends for bodily swing and operable in response to forward rocking forceimposed on the upwardly spaced link, comprising, in combination, a frameincluding a pair of transverse beams spaced apart fore-and-aft, means onsaid frame for detachably connecting the frame a to the trailing ends ofthe three links of said tractor linkage to support said frame thereonand impart forward rocking force to the upper link, a series of o-shapedsprin tines having soil engaging tools at their lower ends, a series ofcrank members each having a substantially horizontal arm and a verticalshank, means on the free end of each of said horizontal arms engageablewith the upper end of one of said tines to hold the same in a normalforwardly facing position regardless of the angular positioning of thecrank arm, a series of fore-and-aft bars having means for detachablymounting the bars on said frame beams in side-to-side relation and witheither end disposed at the forward end of the frame, each of said barshaving a clamp offset from the midpoint thereof for detachably clampingsaid vertical posts of said crank arms in selected vertical andangularly rotated positions to permit positioning of said tines in avariety of arrangements having individual tines offset forwardly andlaterally of other tines, the amount of said offset of said clamps beingcorrelated with the length of said crank arms to locate the holdingmeans on said crank arm forwardly of said frame connecting means in atleast one of the endwise positions of said bars and angular rotation ofsaid crank arm to thereby position the forwardmost of said tines withtheir soil engagin tools in the region substantially below said frameconnecting means.

2. A cultivator for use with a tractor having a pair of power elevateddraft links and an upwardly spaced draft responsive link, said linksbeing universally pivoted at their forward ends for bodily swing, saidcultivator comprising, in combination, a frame including transversefront and rear members With longitudinal members connected therebetween,said frame having means adjacent its forward portion for detachablyconnecting said frame to the trailing ends of the said links, a seriesof spring tines having soil-engaging elements at their lower ends, meansfor supporting said tines on said frame including a series of crankmembers each having a verticalv shaft portion and a substantiallyhorizontally extending crank arm, a series of clamps on the longitudinalframe members for holding said vertical shaft portions of said crankmembers, each of said crank arms having provision at its free end forholding the upper portion of one of said tines in a selected angularposition, said clamps being positionable selectively in laterally spacedpositions and in forward and rearward positions on said frame andoperative to hold the said shaft portions of said crank members inselected vertical and angular positions of said crank members forsecuring said tines in a variety of settings of lateral spacing andfore-and-aft spacing between tines, the forward selective position ofsaid clamps being related to the length of the crank arms and positionof said frame connecting means for positioning the free ends of thecrank arms holding the foremost tines of such settings ahead of avertical plane through said frame connecting means in at least oneselective position of said crank arm.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 27,106 Carey Feb. 4, 1860 984,042 Smith Feb. 14, 19111,424,552 Bronson Aug. 1, 1922 1,560,362 Anderson Nov. 3, 1925 1,734,408Thompson Nov. 5, 1929 1,805,481 Dyrr May 19, 1931 1,838,355 BenjaminDec. 29, 1931 1,900,440 Ferguson Mar. 7, 1933 1,982,862 Erdman Dec. 4,1934 2,005,568 Smith June 18, 1935 2,180,910 Reynolds Nov. 21, 19392,195,516 Ferguson Apr. 2, 1940 2,209,804 Ashley July 30, 1940

